Wonga gone bust

[Harryflashman]

Yep, agreed.
You have to question to mentality of people who would take out such a loan as well.

People are desperate mate I fortunately haven’t been , if you haven’t been then we’re both lucky doesn’t mean the others have a dubious mentality.

 

[-Rob-]

They don't use these services because they are stupid, they use them because they are poor, and desperate, and they have no alternatives

Wonga loans are for the kind of people that would potentially go out and commit crimes for money but instead choose the more legal route of payday loans. They're not all bad.

 

[gianthogweed]

What about all the other scumbags that are still trading quickquid etc see them all the time on tv adverts charging over 1000%

 

[sheedy3]

Merchants of misery..good riddance..there needs to be much tighter controls&checks on this industry type...loansharks in suits

 

[degsy]

Good

This

 

[bignev23]

Provided an invaluable service to the poorer people of our communities and allowed them to experience and own things which they might not have ever had the chance to do so without Companies like these. God bless Wonga.

 

[davids]

I may be old fashioned, but when the majority, seemingly, of radio and day time TV ads are either payday loans, or instant betting ones, sommet aint right.

Funeral plans too.Anyway to fleece you from cradle to grave.

 

[ClausThomsen]

Yep, agreed.
You have to question to mentality of people who would take out such a loan as well.

Not in all cases - their adverts highlight it. It's also useful for capitalising on those caught in the zero-hours / gig economy. They take advantage of people who don't have anything to fall back on.

Need your car for work but it's broke down? Short term loan till your back up and running.
Need to cover the bills but the hours your boss promised you have been given to someone else? Short term loan will see you through till you can get a bit of overtime in.
Baby or young kids at home, freezing outside and the boilers broke down? Go on, it's only a short term loan till payday.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

They don't use these services because they are stupid, they use them because they are poor, and desperate, and they have no alternatives

As much as my left leaning ideals would like this to be the case, and it often is, it’s not so straightforward. I deal with people everyday, who have no money to pay for food or gas and electric, yet are paying £300 a month for a motor on HP, that they will inevitably fall behind in payments on and have snatched back and then have another huge debt.
There’s a desire to have what everyone else has, to have status through commodities, without the budget to match.

 

[LEONARD]

Good riddance.

Vile company exploiting desperate folk, who probably don't grasp what APR represents.

It's a wonder Mike Ashley has not stepped in to rescue it.

 

[Tramps_mate]

As much as my left leaning ideals would like this to be the case, and it often is, it’s not so straightforward. I deal with people everyday, who have no money to pay for food or gas and electric, yet are paying £300 a month for a motor on HP, that they will inevitably fall behind in payments on and have snatched back and then have another huge debt.
There’s a desire to have what everyone else has, to have status through commodities, without the budget to match.

Like having sky TV and new iPhones but can't afford food?

 

[abelard]

As much as my left leaning ideals would like this to be the case, and it often is, it’s not so straightforward. I deal with people everyday, who have no money to pay for food or gas and electric, yet are paying £300 a month for a motor on HP, that they will inevitably fall behind in payments on and have snatched back and then have another huge debt.
There’s a desire to have what everyone else has, to have status through commodities, without the budget to match.

Oh sure, I don't doubt that for an instant.

I think you're right, status is part of it, and aspiring towards a sense of dignity too. When bombarded with constant media and social cues reinforcing just how much is unattainable, it's precisely that which people take pride in claiming for themselves and their loved ones. It's not for nothing that per-capita spending on advertising tends to be higher in more-stratified societies.

This is a long-described phenomenon, actually, which Wonga et al have exacerbated and exploited but by no means created. From The Road to Wigan Pier, for instance: "Instead of raging against their destiny, they have made things tolerable by reducing their standards. But they don’t necessarily reduce their standards by cutting out luxuries, and concentrating on necessities; more often, it is the other way around…Hence, in a decade of unparalleled depression, the consumption of all cheap luxuries has increased."

I expect some will see this as attempting to absolve Wonga abusers of responsibility or blame, but it's really not that - just a stumbling attempt to explain. I'm in no position to judge, one way or the other.

That said, middle class types - who imagine that they, through scrupulous coupon-cutting and bulk-buying and meticulous nutritional-content-per-pence calculating, would be brilliant at being poor - often utterly fail to grasp that the real impact of poverty and inequality is psychological more than it is financial.

And this, as much as anything else, explains why overcoming generational deprivation often proves so challenging, despite even the best state care and attention.